Broken Promises
by OR
Summary: CHAPTER 4 POSTED!!! Weiss returns to help Vaughn find Sydney
1. Default Chapter

Vaughn had worried before. He worried about Sydney going away on missions, going in to SD6, hell, he worried about her walking down the street. He endlessly held his breath waiting for her to walk in the door with her usual, 'Honey, I'm home,' which always got a laugh. He waited for days without sleep, for her to hold him and tell him that it would be all right. And even with her gone, he still waits, but knows she'll never return.  
  
~*  
  
"Think you can handle this?" Sydney asked. She smiled at him, flicked back her long brown hair and dumped a pile of clothes into a suitcase. "Your mother isn't helping you this time, sweetie."  
  
Vaughn watched her as she moved, she seemed to move in slow motion. His mind flashed quickly through all the red tape they had to cut through to get this far, all the criticism, all the 'you can't's' and 'I do's' to be together. He loved her and he knew that she loved him. It was his perfect world that every now and then collided with his imperfect world. He snapped back into reality when he realized that she was waiting for him to answer. "I managed to handle you." Vaughn said trying not to smile but being unable to help it.  
  
Sydney loved his witty remarks, she smiled and shook her head. She kissed him and then looked into him. She could see his worry. He didn't want to be left alone, he didn't want her to go away and leave him to worry for her, he didn't want to look after his daughter by himself for the rest of his life. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm coming back. I promise." She started kissing him again.  
  
He held her in his arms. They went through this every time she had a mission. Vaughn met with her and her handler, he detailed the mission and Vaughn spent the time until she left holding her and lecturing her on being careful. "What if you don't?" Vaughn said sadly. Another frequently asked question.  
  
"I will." She said with a great amount of sincerity, he was looking at the floor, he had moved his hands into his pockets. She took his head in both her hands a looked right into him. "I'm coming back!"  
  
Sarah started to cry, Sydney released Vaughn, who went straight back to looking at the floor. She sighed at him, and looked down at the spot that he was staring at, a nail polish stain that she had managed to put there a few months earlier when her and Francie were having a girls night. She left him to stare at it and wonder how he was going to get it out, whilst she went to tend to her daughter.  
  
~*  
  
Vaughn wasn't clear on what exactly happened to her. The CIA had so many theories on how she was killed that he didn't know what to believe any more. He would have preferred to see her die of cancer than some of the ways mentioned.  
  
He had heard that she was driving and was shot. That the car veered off the road and wrapped it's self around a pole and killed the agent she was with.  
  
Another was that Ann Marie (the agent) was driving and got distracted when Sydney was shot, veered off the road, wrapped around a pole and killed herself.  
  
And another was that Sydney was driving towards Ann Marie, to pick her up, was shot and then ran her over and wrapped the car around a pole.  
  
None made much sense to Vaughn. He knew that Sydney wasn't driving the car. The coroner's report said so. He knew that she was shot, he knew Ann Marie wasn't in the car when the fire brigade arrived at the scene of the accident, he knew that Sydney had died as soon as the bullet hit her and she didn't suffer at all.  
  
He had his own theories about how the lives of two very well regarded agents, one being his wife, were taken.  
  
Ann Marie had just picked up Sydney, they were being chased by K Directorate, approximately three maybe four cars. Sydney was shot by an on coming vehicle, Ann Marie then lost control of the car. She was unable to regain control and tried to climb out of the spinning car by opening the door. When the car struck the pole, Ann Marie was thrown out and died by head injury when she hit the pavement.  
  
Vaughn tried to present this to Devlin but he wouldn't hear it. He told Vaughn that he was tired at that he was still grieving Sydney and to go home and look after his daughter. Vaughn didn't want to go home, he wanted people to listen to him. He wanted to have a say in what was going to happen to his dead wife, what was going on her record, even though it wouldn't benefit her much now.  
  
Weiss took him home. Vaughn sat down, hit with the realization that he was never going to see Sydney again. Sarah was at his mothers and he wanted to leave her there. forever. He was left alone after a small argument with Weiss about weather or not he needed company.  
  
All Vaughn wanted to do was tell Francie. He was starting to feel sorry for her. Vaughn grabbed his jacket off the banister of the stairs from exactly where he dropped it when he walked in the door. He fumbled around looking for the car keys. He checked every where he could think of, before he heard Sydney's voice in his head, 'Put them on the rack in the kitchen and you'll always find them, silly'. He went into the kitchen and sure enough, on the rack were the shiny silver car keys. He broke down into sobs, he fell to the floor, huddled into a tight ball and cried for his wife, with all her wisdom.  
  
~*  
  
Vaughn knocked on the door to Francie's apartment, it was about seven thirty in the morning. It took a little while but she came to the door, looking tired and wearing a white bathrobe. She looked at him rather confused, as if she didn't even know who he was. She moved aside without saying a word and let the tired, worn, unshaven man into her apartment and closed the door.  
  
Francie knew that something was wrong, he rarely came to see her unless Sydney was with him. She bit her lower lip as she watched him sit down and rub his neck. "What's wrong Michael?" She asked looking worried. "Are you okay? Is Sydney okay?"  
  
Vaughn closed his eyes and tried to fight back his tears, but couldn't stop a few from escaping, he shook his head, as if he were unable to speak. Finally after all the rocking back and forward and fighting off tears, he managed a: "No! Every things not okay." He sobbed it out. He let the tears stream down his face.  
  
Francie just stood frozen, something had happened to Sydney, something bad. She prayed that she was just in hospital, a coma or something, she prayed that it was just something that she would recover from in a few weeks. Francie wasn't going to cry, not until she knew exactly what was wrong. "What? What happened? Please tell me what happened." Francie was pleading with him, she couldn't take it anymore, what was it that her best friend's husband was so upset about?  
  
"Sydney," was all he could get out before burying his head in his hands a sobbing, "She's. I. I'm sorry Francie. I didn't want her to go, she wanted to, you can't stop her, she's dead." He blurted out in a mass of jumbled words and nonsense.  
  
Francie stared at him, she was angry at first and then she started to cry. She didn't understand why this happened to Sydney, her best friend, bridesmaid at her wedding, godmother to her child as was Francie to her. She thought that she needed to sit, but she couldn't make her body move. She looked up and saw Vaughn standing directly in front of her, she fell into his arms. They cried together for their friend and partner.  
  
Francie's husband came in from the next room. He was tall, muscular and was also wearing a white bathrobe. "Francie, baby, is everything okay, honey?" he asked looking very worried. He recognized Michael straight away, and knew that something wasn't right. The two of them standing together crying wasn't the only factor supporting his thought, the way Vaughn presented himself was quite different. He was in casual dress, he wasn't groomed, and his eyes were red and puffy.  
  
Vaughn released Francie from his grip, and sat back down on the couch. He tried to calm himself down. He was taking deep breaths and had his head thrown back so he was staring at the ceiling.  
  
Francie moved swiftly over to her husband and he held her, "Syd is dead," she cried into his chest. "She's gone and she's not coming back."  
  
~*  
  
Sydney's funeral was beautiful, if she were there, she would have agreed. Her family and friends that she knew and were still alive had come to say goodbye to her. They cried and wished Vaughn the best and said hello to Sarah.  
  
There were white lilies all around the church, photos of a happy smiling Sydney placed at the front of the altar and her coffin. It was dark wooden brown and had a white silk interior. Jack had wanted to have an open coffin but Vaughn wouldn't allow it, Sydney was pale and dead, he didn't want people looking at her with a big hole blown into her chest.  
  
"Sydney was a wonderful person, she loved her family, her friends and always searched for the truth. She was the strongest person I ever knew and now we say good bye to someone who didn't deserve to die. I am going to read a poem that Sydney read at the funeral of our good friend Will Tippin." Francie read off a piece of paper on the podium, to a tissue gripping audience and tried not to cry. "We strive until we broke, We hurt until we died, We fell to the ground and wept like children, And screamed for freedom, We never had the chances, We never gave in, We screamed for freedom, And disappeared into the dark, We cried for the ones we lost, We lied to the ones we protected, We disappeared into the dark, And waited for an absolution, We hid under the fear, We hid from the murderer, And waited for an absolution, That never came." "Thank you all for coming." Francie stepped down from the podium and returned to her seat next to Vaughn.  
  
Sydney was put in the ground next to Will, who was next to Danny. Vaughn stood with Francie, she was so upset about saying goodbye to her friend, her and Francie had been friends ever since they were kids, and now one of them was gone. "Are you okay?" Vaughn asked her.  
  
"I'm saving that spot for me." She said pointing to the empty patch of ground next to Sydney's grave. "The three of them, they were all murdered. Danny, Will and now Sydney, I hope I don't go like that." She had tears streaming down her face.  
  
Vaughn took her in his arms. "We'll grow strong. Sydney and Will and Danny weren't meant to die like this, but they did and we have to be strong for them. I love Sydney and I always will, but I have to be there for Sarah and you have to be strong for your family."  
  
Francie had forgot all about Sarah, not purposely but she had, what was Vaughn going to do with out Sydney. Francie assumed that she would have to step in with the up bringing of Sarah, she was her godmother after all. "I'm going to help you." Francie said to him, looking so sincere that Vaughn suddenly felt peaceful.  
  
"Thank you." He said.  
  
Everybody bowed their heads as they said the final prayer to God and buried Sydney. Jack had organized for everyone to have a white rose that was thrown into the grave once the coffin was in place. Francie moved forward and crouched at the end of the grave. "Thank you friend. Don't worry, I'm going to take care of Michael and Sarah for you. I love you Syd, bye." Francie kissed the rose and threw it into the grave and went back to standing next to Vaughn.  
  
The wake was also nice. Vaughn was surprised at the sympathy that he received, they all said that they wanted to take Sarah home with them. Vaughn shook a lot of hands and met a lot of new people. Many of Sydney's friends from SD6 were there and a lot of the people from their wedding were also there. There was talk of Sydney, tears for her and cake.  
  
~*  
  
Vaughn didn't want to get rid of Sydney's things, some where inside he still believed she was coming back. Her clothes, shoes and make up went to Francie, and Vaughn kept all of her other stuff. Like the letters from friends, the photos of her and her friends, her sentimental things like teddies that she had, had since she was a baby and her diary, he kept her CDs and videos as well. Francie, Weiss, Jack and his mother had come to help him clean out her stuff. They tidied the house and did his washing, Vaughn just sat there, nursed Sarah and watched them move around him.  
  
"It's going to get easier, Michael." His mother said to him, she took Sarah and put her into her bassinet that was sitting in the middle of the lounge room. "I promise, you just need time." She patted him on the head.  
  
"Before she died, Sydney promised me that she was coming back mom, don't make promises because I don't believe them." He said bitterly. He was past being upset about Sydney's death and had moved on to being angry, with himself, the CIA, everybody and Sydney. He hated her for leaving him like this, to look after Sarah, to look after himself.  
  
"You will be okay and we will always be here for you." She got up to help the others and left Vaughn sitting on the couch sulking.  
  
Vaughn was slowly drifting off into a world where every thing was okay, he saw familiar people and Sydney was there. He wanted to stay in this world forever, he wanted to be safe, he wanted Sydney.  
  
"Michael," A small voice dared to interrupt, "I found this." Francie was grasping a small folded piece of paper, she stood a little bit crouched over him, she was worried about him snapping at her as she had seen him snap at his mother earlier.  
  
She held it out to him and he took it from her, "Thanks." Was all he said before sitting back on the chair and staring out the window at the swing in the small yard that Sydney liked playing on, he had called her a big kid so many times cause she loved it so much.  
  
Francie left him alone, she had been too curious not to read the letter Sydney had left for her husband to read if she should never return from one of her missions.  
  
Vaughn moved outside into the cold LA weather and sat on the swing, he carefully unfolded the letter and read it to himself.  
  
Dearest Michael, I love you. If you are reading this then it means one of two things, one I am dead or two you are going through my underwear draw. Get out of my underwear draw! If it is for the first reason then I'm sorry. I never wanted to leave you or Sarah. If it's for the second then get out of my damn underwear! (I laugh). I saw this done in several movies and decided to steal it, I didn't want to die without you knowing that I love you. Bring Sarah up the best you can, tell Francie I love her very much and good luck with BJ, always remember to feed the dog and honey, put your keys on the rack and you'll always know where to find them. I wish I could go on forever, tell you everything you need for life but I can't, just promise me that you'll look after yourself. I worry about you the most. Never forget how much I love you and I will always be with you, I mean, you never know, we may meet again in another life, look out for me. I love you. Sydney PS Now I am your Guardian Angel.  
  
Vaughn let a few tears out. Sydney had touched him, he really needed a part of her, during this hard time and now he finally had something from her. He loved her so much, he decided that he was going to move on, for her. She said that she was watching over him and he believed that she was. He was going to treasure the last major thing she gave him and he was going to do a good job, Sarah was his daughter and nothing would ever change that.  
  
Vaughn went inside and for the first time in days, spoke to his friends and family, helped them out with their little task and he even started to smile again.  
  
~*  
  
[Sixteen years later]  
  
"Sarah, you're going to be late for school if you don't hurry up!" Vaughn yelled angrily up the stairs. He was wearing a blue suit and kept looking at his watch with anticipation.  
  
A tall thin girl with long black hair, approximately sixteen years of age stood on the platform at the top of the stairs. She was wearing a long black skirt and a long sleeved black top. She was wearing dark makeup, big black army boots, several items of jewelry hung around neck and wrists and had a pierced nose. "Nobody asked you to drive me to school." She said sounding rather nasty.  
  
"Yes. the bus driver did after you threw that water balloon at his head and made him crash the bus." Vaughn said sounding as mater-of-factly as possible. "And do you think that you could show up for some classes today?"  
  
"I don't even know why you send me to that dumb school, I hate it." She was sounding bitterer by the second, she looked at him with a devilish look. "Can't I just leave school?"  
  
"By Californian state law I am required to send you to school until you finish senior studies." Vaughn quoted the newly passed laws about education in America. "Look at you. Your mother would turn in her grave if she saw you."  
  
Sarah dropped her head down and stared at the floor. She knew in so many ways that she blamed her mothers absence for her screwed up life. She dad would never remarry, she never had a mom, both her parents were only children and Francie had died in a car crash ten weeks after her fourteenth birthday. "I know."  
  
"Stick out your tongue." Vaughn said quickly, scaring his daughter and making her jump.  
  
"Why?" She questioned hoping to advert the conversation to something that didn't require her getting in to too much trouble.  
  
"Stick your tongue out now!" Vaughn had tried not to raise his voice to his daughter too often but some times she pushed him over the edge. She stuck her tongue out to reveal a prefect silver sphere. "Ahh, more holes. Why do you do this? I said yes to the belly button as long as I didn't see it, I accepted the nose ring but this is going too far young lady."  
  
Sarah felt small. She hated up setting her father, but always managed to anyway and she was starting to not care whether she did or not.  
  
Vaughn stopped himself when his eye caught on a shiny sparkling item hung around her neck. He looked closely at it and recognized it instantly. "You're wearing your mother's pendant." He said calmly pointing at the silver necklace.  
  
Sarah fingered it, "Yeah, I like it, it. makes me feel close to her. I know that sound silly." She looked at it, she wanted to cry, she was never told how her mother died. Never in her life had a person explained to her how her mother was taken away from her. She had once asked Vaughn if she had died giving birth, but that just made him drag out photos of her in hospital and at age three months and other stuff.  
  
"No, I totally agree, I have the same kind of thing." He said looking at her with a new tone of voice and through different eyes.  
  
"Really, you have something that reminds you of mom? What is it?" She was now eager to know, her father have something very special that was the one thing that kept him close to her mother, it didn't seem like him.  
  
"You." He said in a tone that sounded to Sarah quite like: 'I will love you even if you look like Mick Jager'.  
  
She stared at him, for the first time in a very long time she saw the father she had always wanted, he wasn't closed to her but he didn't share with her either. Then she did start to cry, he held her in his arms and let her cry. When she finally looked up she said, "Michael, can I drive?"  
  
"Okay then Sarah." He said, then was suddenly hit with the fact that he had just put his life into the hands of a sixteen-year-old girl.  
  
"Dad I'm changing my name to Magenta. Where are the keys?" she said and started going through his pockets.  
  
"Magenta? What ever for?" He asked as he watched her going though his jacket, and get really frustrated.  
  
"I like it. Dad! Where are the keys?" She said very frustrated and jumping up and down.  
  
"I like the name Sarah. What did you mother always say?" he said smiling at her.  
  
"Put the keys on the rack and you'll always know where to find them." They both said together and then laughed. They hugged each other as if the finally found the people they were looking for.  
  
"Dad," she said looking up at him from his tight embrace, "While we're in the sharing mood, there's something that I really want to tell you." She seemed nervous.  
  
"What is it sweetie?" He asked without letting her go, he want to cherish this moment forever.  
  
"Dad, I'm having a baby." She said boldly and very frightened of what he was going to say to her.  
  
"What?!?!?!?!?!?" 


	2. Chapter 2

Vaughn had never known the weather to be so cold but that what you got in a climate that you weren't used to and a hotel that was dodgier than most of the ones in the US, but Vaughn didn't care.  
  
~*  
  
"Dad, I need ice cream." Sarah said moving oddly down the hall of the home she shared with her father. Many things had changed in her life in the past few months. Her and her father were getting along much better than they had before. She didn't know if it was because she was pregnant or if her leaving school did it, but it was better.  
  
"Ice cream you say?" Vaughn questioned, getting up out of his chair and opening the freezer door. "We've got. just about all the thirty-one flavors courtesy of our good friends at Baskin Robins. Pick one, or would you like all thirty?"  
  
"I thought you said thirty-one?" Sarah laughed, rolling into view of her father. She went to speak again but was cut off by Vaughn.  
  
"Don't even think about complaining. You got yourself into this mess, it's your own fault. I was supportive and I excepted it." Vaughn said, waving his finger at her. It was a speech that she managed to receive every couple of days.  
  
Sarah rolled her eyes, put her hand on her hip and begun to tap her foot on the floor, "I know, I know. I made some changes too. I got rid of the belly button ring and the tongue ring, I left school, I wear colors."  
  
"I know sweetie," he said and wrapped his arms around her, "you look just like your mother did when she was seven and a half months pregnant, just a little bit younger and the nose ring but that's just yuck."  
  
"You always talk about her." Sarah whispered quietly. She didn't like being compared to her all the time. When Vaughn didn't answer her she continued to speak. "Dad, how did mom die? I know that you don't like to talk about it but. I think that I'm old enough to handle it." She looked at him with a pleading face.  
  
Vaughn scratched his head and took a seat at the table. Sarah sat uncomfortably in the chair next to him and listened to him intently. "I'm going to tell you the truth. I think that you can handle it too but I also think that I owe it to you. You mother was an agent for the CIA. She had a mission, something went wrong and in the process of trying to get away she was shot and killed. I'll never forget what she said before she left."  
  
Sarah could hardly believe what she was hearing. Her mother, the amazing Sydney Bristow, was shot. Sarah took a few deep breaths, "What did she say?" She asked quietly, trying not to tear up.  
  
"She said that she was coming back, she promised that she was going to be here to watch you grow up. She." He stopped, images of Sydney flashed through his head. When she took a week off work to nurse him when he was sick, when she first kissed him, when she sat at the big table in the CIA building with pink hair furiously scribbling away at her statement. "She would never forget."  
  
A look of worry crossed Sarah's face. Her father only ever talked about the mother she believed in, the mother that Sarah believed existed once upon a time. Now she was a bigger stranger than ever before. "My mother was an agent for the CIA?" Sarah almost sounded bitter, "And you kept it from me my whole life." She wanted to run, she wanted to get out of the house, she wanted the truth, and she had it. She stood and waddled out of the room.  
  
Vaughn didn't try to stop her, he knew that there was nothing he could do to comfort her. She acted much like Sydney did when she first found out the truth about her mother. Vaughn knew that Irina was still out there some where. Maybe justice was finally done, maybe Irina was finally claimed by those who hated her and despised her as much as he himself did.  
  
~*  
  
Dear Jack Michael Jason Henry Vaughn Junior was born on the first of September. He was seven pound four ounces. Both mother and son are doing well. If you're not to busy, we'd love for you to come and spend Thanks Giving with us this year. Your great grand son was just born and we haven't seen you for quite a while, it would be nice to catch up. Please consider it, Sarah hasn't seen you in about ten years. It's her birthday soon as well, come and celebrate with us. Hope to hear from you soon. Yours sincerely Michael  
  
"Another letter to grand-dad?" Sarah questioned looking over his shoulder as he sealed the envelope.  
  
"We can only keep trying." He sighed and placed a stamp on it. He added it to the other pile of letters that needed to be sent to friends and family, bundled them all up and headed for the door. "Care to join me in a walk down the street?" He asked an amused Sarah.  
  
"Well don't mind if I do." She said, pulling Michael Junior into her arms and following her father out the front door and down the street.  
  
~*  
  
Vaughn watched as Sarah looked out the window, Michael Junior sat awkwardly on her knee making baby noises.  
  
"It doesn't matter how long you wait, it hasn't snowed in LA for years and it probably won't start now." Vaughn said plainly, smoothed her hair away from her face and gently kissed her head.  
  
"Well that's good because I gave up waiting for it to snow here years ago." She met Vaughn's tone, but didn't take her eyes off the front walk. "Do you need a hand at all?"  
  
"No thanks. My mother has handled everything, the soup, the vegetables, the turkey, everything!" When he received no answer from his little bit of light humor, he continued, "Are you waiting for him?" Vaughn asked. He gained her gaze and again he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.  
  
"No. maybe." Was all she said before looking back to the front walk, "Why won't he come and see me? I'm his daughter's daughter. Why won't he come?"  
  
"I gave up on that question years ago. I only call the man and write and fax and e-mail for your benefit but he doesn't seem to care. In some ways, I think it hurts him. The world he fought to keep right, took his daughter away when he was just getting to know her again, really know her." Vaughn tried to explain Jack to his daughter but it was an effortful attempt that just wasn't possible. "He loves you, you know that right?"  
  
Sarah sighed, yeah she knew that, but she didn't want to believe it. "Yes, I know."  
  
"Good. Actually you can set the table." He said smiling and taking Michael Junior from her arms.  
  
"No sweetie, there's nothing for you to do." She said mimicking him as she walked into the kitchen.  
  
Vaughn, Sarah and Vaughn's mother, who Vaughn claimed to be invincible, sat down to their Thanks Giving meal, when there was a small knock on the door. Vaughn abandoned his seat to answer it.  
  
He swung the door open and was faced with an old, weathered Jack. First Vaughn just stood astonished and stared at him.  
  
"Are you going to invite me in or not?" Jack asked, almost still as bitter as he had become after the death of Sydney.  
  
"Ah, yeah sorry." Vaughn said moving aside and letting him into the warmth. "We didn't think that you would be coming. After we didn't get a reply." Vaughn realized that he was babbling and quickly stopped himself.  
  
"Yes," Jack had that tone that Vaughn hated, "When I said that I never wanted to speak to you again, I meant it. Never the less, Sarah is my granddaughter and Sydney would have wanted me to be around a bit." Jack pushed past him to get reacquainted with his granddaughter and Vaughn's mother, leaving a shocked Vaughn gaping at the front entrance.  
  
Sarah nearly fell off her chair when Jack walked into the living room. "Granddad," she yelled abandoning her chair and running to hug him. "Oh my God. How are you? Have a seat. Can I get you a drink?" Questions flooded her head as she fussed over the old man.  
  
Jack accepted the hug and the seat and the drink. Every time went to answer another question was thrown his way. Jack put his finger to Sarah's mouth, she stopped talking and just smiled at him. "I am very well my dear, where's my little baby?"  
  
A big smile spread across Sarah's face as she turned and gathered up Michael Junior from his bouncer on the floor and handed him to Jack.  
  
"Wow, aren't you a fine young man? Yes you are, yes you are." Jack gooed at the baby whilst Sarah, Vaughn and Mrs. Vaughn stared in awe. "What?"  
  
"The meal was lovely, thank you grandma," Sarah said politely to Mrs. Vaughn as she helped scoop up the dishes and take them into the kitchen.  
  
Vaughn dreaded being left alone with Jack. Vaughn knew that with the way jack was looking at him that he was live bait. "Is something the matter?" He asked.  
  
"How the hell did you manage to let your daughter, your only daughter go off and get pregnant? She's ruined her life." Jack said as calmly as he could muster.  
  
"Oh so this is my fault. In case you forgot, the last seventeen years haven't been the greatest for me either, my wife died." Vaughn shot back at him.  
  
"Don't you know that when you have a child, you don't matter anymore. Sarah was your child and you failed at being a good father to her." Jack had raised his voice at an attempt at getting his point across.  
  
"You weren't the best father either!" Vaughn yelled back, "You walked out on Sydney at the same time her mother did. When she died you left and Sydney was all alone."  
  
"I know that I wasn't the best father but Sydney wasn't pregnant at sixteen." Jack was trying to build a case against Vaughn.  
  
"No but Sydney was hurt, her whole life she carried that hurt with her. I know I was there when she cried, when she found out about her mother, when her friends died, I was there. I love Sarah and I wouldn't let anything or anyone hurt her, she made this decision, I let her decide what she wanted to do, she was old enough and I think she made a good one." Vaughn felt that his speech had penetrated the thick walls that were built up around Jack.  
  
"And how is this all being paid for?" Jack questioned smartly.  
  
"I work," Vaughn said slightly confused.  
  
"Where," Jack kept asking questions.  
  
"The CIA." Vaughn responded in a 'you already knew that' tone.  
  
"How much does she know?" Jack asked trying to keep himself from being heard by anyone else in the house.  
  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Vaughn asked looking rather confused.  
  
"How much does she know about her mother? How much does she know about you? What does she know about anything?" Jack questioned quickly and quietly.  
  
"I fail to see how any of this is revenant." Vaughn snapped back at him.  
  
"Would you just tell me?" Jack was about two seconds from losing all of his temper.  
  
"There are no secrets in this house." Vaughn stated, "If Sarah wants to know I'm not going to keep it from her."  
  
"So what you're saying is that she knows that you work for the CIA, and she knows that her mother was shot whilst cruising around Paris in a Mercedes Benz?" Jack questioned being a smart-ass.  
  
"No, well, yes, she knows that Sydney was shot and killed. That's all she knows, promise." Vaughn said as if he were trying to explain a schoolyard prank to a principle.  
  
"Well then, let's stick to that story and keep the truth between the two of us." Jack said moving towards his coat and pulling out a folded yellow envelope.  
  
"What do you mean, truth?" Vaughn asked following him, "My wife's dead and nothing in your little envelope is gonna change that."  
  
"Maybe it will." Jack said handing Vaughn a photo that he had removed from the envelope. "Isn't that your wife there with those young children selling lemonade?"  
  
Vaughn stared at the photo. It looked like Sydney, a young Sydney. Much different to how he imagined her. "This could have been taken years ago."  
  
"It was taken years ago, about ten, six and a half years after she died!" Jack said handing him more photos of Sydney playing with small children, dressed in a navy blue suit, having a picnic.  
  
"No, my wife is dead, I buried her." Vaughn said tossing the photos at Jack and sitting down on the floor.  
  
"You buried someone, someone who is not this girl." Jack said crouching in front of Vaughn and putting the photo right in his face. "This girls name is Sydney Bucannon, ironic? It goes on. She works for K Directorate, they very people who supposedly killed Sydney. Also if you do a full blood work up, you will find that this girl has the same blood type, the same DNA and the same medical history. Sydney's alive."  
  
"You can't just come in here and tell me that what I've believed for the last seventeen years is wrong, you can't do that!" Vaughn was yelling loud enough to draw his daughter out of the kitchen.  
  
"Dad what's wrong?" Sarah asked rushing to his side and wrapping her arms around him.  
  
Vaughn was sobbing now, he couldn't string a single sentence together.  
  
"What happened?" Sarah looked to Jack for an answer, "What the hell happened?" She screamed at Jack. When he didn't answer she looked back to her father. "Daddy, are you okay? What happened?"  
  
Vaughn continued to sob he hoped that Sarah hadn't seen the photos of Sydney. He didn't know what to tell her yet. He didn't even know what to think himself. He was so confused.  
  
"Nothing darling." Jack said peeling Sarah off Vaughn, "Can you please get me a cup of coffee?"  
  
"Is dad going to be alright?" Sarah asked without taking her eyes off Vaughn.  
  
"I'll take care of him." Jack said giving Sarah a gentle nudge in the back to get her going. He waited until Sarah was safely out of the room, before he grabbed a hold of Vaughn's arm and pulled him into a chair.  
  
Vaughn thought Jack was still pretty strong for a man who had long since retired. "Wh-W-Why?" Vaughn managed to sob.  
  
"What? Do you want me to give you an explanation?" Jack said losing his temper again, "I don't know. My daughter, who's meant to be dead, has been living in Russia with a bunch of psycho killers. How's that?"  
  
"How do you know this?" Vaughn managed to get out between sobs.  
  
"I have connections in Russia. I have connections tucked away in the strangest places." Jack started, "He met Sydney once, briefly. This girl, went to him for some work and he thought he recognized her, took some photos and sent them to me."  
  
"When?" Vaughn asked, when he didn't get an answer Vaughn resulted to yelling, "When? Ten years ago? Is that when you got them? Ten years ago?"  
  
"I was going to tell you, but I just couldn't." Jack said.  
  
"Ten years." Vaughn sighed, "Ten years ago was the last time we heard from you. You found out about this and you didn't contact us or ever reply to letter or phone calls."  
  
"I did it for you and Sarah." Jack started.  
  
"You've never done anything for me in your life. You hated me right from the beginning. Right from when you threw me against the wall and threatened me." Vaughn cut him off and started yelling again.  
  
"I knew that it would hurt you even more then than it would now. So I didn't get in touch. When I got your letter, I thought that in maybe almost time." Jack tried to explain.  
  
"Good thought," Vaughn said sarcastically, "'An extra ten years should be enough.'"  
  
"I've been trying to find her, and bring her back. I've been wandering around Russia at regular intervals for the last ten years. I only came into contact with her twice. They move her a lot. Both times she told me something different. I think that they've done something to make her remember select things. She's not how she used to be."  
  
"I would have guessed as much." Vaughn said quietly.  
  
"It wasn't my intention to bring this on you like this but I didn't really see any other way." Jack said laying a hand on his shoulder.  
  
~*  
  
"Dad, I wish you'd tell me where you're going." Sarah said putting a couple of shirts into an open suitcase laying on the double bed.  
  
"All you have to know is that I'll be back in a couple of days. Can you look after the house while I'm gone?" Vaughn asked coming out of the bathroom with a towel and his toothbrush.  
  
"Yep." Sarah said, surprised that her dad was going to let her handle the house whilst he was gone.  
  
"You know Grandma can come and stay with you if you get lonely, you know my mobile number and no parties while I gone." Vaughn said closing the suitcase and starting for the door.  
  
"Yes dad I know I know I know." Sarah said following him, "Stay safe."  
  
"I will, promise." Secretly Vaughn hoped it wouldn't become another broken promise. He hugged her. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too dad." Sarah buried her face into his chest. She had a feeling that he wasn't just heading off for a nice vacation. "I'll miss you."  
  
"I'll be back." He kissed her on the head and walked out the door.  
  
"I hope so." She whispered to herself after the door closed.  
  
~*  
  
Vaughn exited the terminal into the chilly air and hailed a cab. A cab pulled over and he jumped in and said to the cabby, "Isn't Russia nice this time of year. 


	3. Chapter 3

*Flashback*  
  
Sydney lay in the very small blow up pool trying to cool herself. "I think I may need some ice in this thing." She said laughing and rubbing her swollen belly where the baby fussed about.  
  
"Then maybe you'll freeze to death!" Vaughn exclaimed dramatically, making Sydney laugh. He handed her a drink and loosened his tie as he sat by the pool. "I have now taken leave so I can stay at home with you until the baby is born.  
  
"I love you." She said moving awkwardly to kiss him. "How was work today?"  
  
"Yep heaps of fun," he laughed, "well actually, it was pretty boring until Weiss had this mini mental break down. He turned the air conditioner and fans on full ball and started to rip up the paper on people's desks and letting it fly around the room. I've never laughed so hard in my entire life."  
  
"Is he okay now?" Sydney asked sounding quiet worried but still smiling.  
  
"Yes, he's fine. I don't know if his job is but he's fine, plus I think he did it as a joke." Vaughn started. "Although some of those papers alone could get him fired."  
  
"That's not funny!" Sydney splashed him.  
  
"Hey." He jumped into the pool and they started to splash each other a lot.  
  
"Vaughn, Vaughn!" Sydney screamed stopping him, he looked at her blankly. "That suit is dry clean only!"  
  
"Oops!" He said sarcastically and continued to splash her.  
  
*End Flashback*  
  
~*  
  
Vaughn thought that starting to look for Sydney in the capital of Russia was as good as any. He also knew that it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. For the first two days of his trip he walked around aimlessly, with a photo that Jack had left with him, asking people if they'd seen this girl.  
  
He was about to give up and go home to LA and go back to the life he had believed for the last seventeen years but something just didn't want to leave her here with these people.  
  
Vaughn decided that he would hang around the K Directorate base for a few hours. He hoped that she would come to work or leave the office or something.  
  
He had been sitting on the bench outside for about three hours when someone, who must have thought he was homeless handed him a sandwich. Vaughn looked at the sandwich and then saw the note that came with it. It read: 'I know who you are, follow me.'  
  
Vaughn followed him being very careful of who was around him and where he was going. He followed the guy who gave him the letter into a small café and sat at the table behind him.  
  
The man was reading a newspaper, "I know what you want." He said casually.  
  
"What do I want than?" Vaughn asked as he picked up the menu to look it over. He had decided that he was feeling a bit hungry and started to wish that he didn't dump the sandwich.  
  
"You want Sydney Bucannon." He whispered, "I can tell you that she is on a mission and won't be back for a couple of days."  
  
"Who are you?" Vaughn asked as he saw the waiter approach the table.  
  
"Can I help you sir?" The wait asked in Russian.  
  
"I'll have a toasted cheese sandwich," Vaughn replied in perfect Russian.  
  
"Any drinks?" The waiter asked again in Russian.  
  
"Just a coffee." Vaughn answered.  
  
The waiter moved on to the next table.  
  
"Jack told me to expect you around somewhere." He continued.  
  
"Jack told you?" Vaughn asked, "You're a double aren't you?"  
  
"Yes, but that's all you're to know." He said turning the page of his newspaper.  
  
"Is it true that they move her around between bases?" Vaughn asked smiling as a young couple walked past his table.  
  
"Not like that. It's just that sometimes she's needed in other parts of Russia and they send her off to work there. She has different aliases for each base and has been trained to use them wherever she is. She's a very intelligent girl." He said folding up his paper.  
  
"And who is she here?" Vaughn asked.  
  
"She's just Sydney Bucannon, mother of two, her husband was killed in a war that never happened and she was in a car crash and lost her memory." He said picking up a piece of bread that a waiter sat on his table.  
  
"Are they her children?" Vaughn asked clearly hurt that she had children.  
  
"God no!" He exclaimed. "They're just a couple of orphans that K Directorate picked up and planted with her."  
  
"Why are they doing this?" Vaughn kept the questions coming hard and fast.  
  
"Hey, as far as she knows this has been her life, she doesn't know that she is an American, she doesn't remember her daughter, she doesn't remember you." He answered every question flawlessly.  
  
Vaughn was hurt, he just wanted to cry. "Where does she live?"  
  
"I can't tell you that." He said seriously. "If they see anyone sneaking around, they kill you on sight."  
  
"They guard her house?" Vaughn asked shocked.  
  
"Yes, there are many who want her dead." He replied, "Even people in the same organization, ever heard of Anna Esponosa?"  
  
"Yes." Vaughn answered.  
  
"She knew Sydney when she worked of SD6." He started.  
  
"I know!" Vaughn said bitterly. Remembering that he blamed Anna for Sydney's death.  
  
"Well," He continued, "she tried an assassinate Sydney about five years ago. They threw her into a jail for three months of questioning and then released her. She never went near Sydney again."  
  
"So they consider her and asset?" Vaughn asked feeling stupidly proud of his wife.  
  
"Hell yes!" he said as if to say 'der', "If anything happened to her they'd, go after the cause and everyone and everything the cause knew."  
  
"Why..?" Vaughn stopped talking and smiled when the waiter came over and put his meal on the table and left again. "Did you order?"  
  
"I come here a lot, they know exactly what I have." He replied.  
  
"I'm supposed to be going home to the States tomorrow, if I give you my number will you call me and tell me when she gets back and what she's doing next?" Vaughn asked trying as hard as possible not to sound desperate.  
  
"Yes, I can certainly do that." He replied.  
  
As the waiter passed Vaughn's table, Vaughn stopped him, "Excuse me," he said in Russian again, "May I please use your pen?"  
  
"Yes," the waiter said handing him the pen.  
  
Vaughn quickly scribbled his number on a paper napkin and handed the pen back to the waiter who then walked off. He screwed up the napkin and dropped it on the floor next to he guy's chair.  
  
He bent down and picked it up. "Sure thing." He said reading the number then putting the napkin into his pocket.  
  
"I want to follow her to her next mission." Vaughn said with determination.  
  
"That may not be a good idea but I'll ring you and tell you where she's going anyway," he said, "Don't blame me if you get dead." The he called to the waiter, "Marcus can you pack that to go. I'll see you later."  
  
"Bye" Vaughn said putting a mouthful of toasted cheese sandwich into his mouth, as the guy got up and went over to pick up his food and left.  
  
~*  
  
Vaughn didn't sleep that night. He could only see Sydney fighting and stealing for his enemy, for the people who were once her enemy.  
  
He got up and got a drink. He looked at the clock: four am. It was about four pm in LA and with any luck, Sarah would be at home and keep him company for a little while.  
  
He reached for the diseased hotel phone that he'd pay a fortune for when he checked out and dialed home.  
  
*(phone conversation)*  
  
"Hello," Sarah's voice answered.  
  
"Sarah," Vaughn whispered into the phone, "What are you doing sweetie?"  
  
"Dad?" Sarah asked, "Me? I'm not doing much. I was just about to give Jr. a bath. What are you doing?"  
  
"Nothing, just trying to get some sleep." He replied.  
  
"What time is it?" she asked, "Where are you exactly?"  
  
"I'm in Russia and it's four am." Vaughn stated.  
  
"What are you doing in Russia?" She asked quiet shocked.  
  
"Visiting some friends." Vaughn lied, "I wanted you to come but decided that with Jr. it would probably be best for you to stay at home with him. They say hi by the way."  
  
"Daddy why are you having trouble sleeping?" Sarah showed deep worry for her father.  
  
"I think it's because I fly home tomorrow and I'm worried about the flight and if every thing will be okay with the airline and the luggage and the shuttle home." he stopped when Sarah cut him off.  
  
"Why don't I call nana and we'll come and pick you up and you that will be one less thing that you have to worry about." Sarah said as if to solve all of his problems.  
  
"Thank you honey that would be very nice of you." Vaughn replied.  
  
"Daddy, I want you to stay safe." Sarah laid down the instructions. "I wasn't old enough to feel the loss of my mother but I felt her absence. If I were to loose you I would feel loss, absence, pain, everything. Promise me you'll stay safe."  
  
"I promise." Vaughn said, he felt pain himself, knowing that his wife was alive somewhere, somewhere that wasn't with him. "Sweetie I better go okay?"  
  
"That's okay daddy. I'll see you at the airport." She replied rather chirpy.  
  
"Thanks. I love you." He whispered.  
  
"Love you too Daddy." Sarah said.  
  
"Bye." Vaughn said and then hung up the phone. He sighed to himself and lay back in bed. She sounded so much like her mother. He loved that about her. He slowly drifted into unconsciousness.  
  
~*  
  
Vaughn knew that something would go wrong, he could feel it.  
  
He climbed out of bed, running late, grabbed his bags, paid the bill and jumped into a cab. He managed to make a note that Russians couldn't drive just before the cab he was in was hit by a bus.  
  
~*  
  
Vaughn didn't know what hit him but he knew that whatever it was it hit him hard. He was awake and alert for someone who had been in a coma for three days.  
  
"What happened?" Vaughn asked the first person that entered his room.  
  
The nurse turned and picked up the file that hung at the end of his bed. "You were hit by a bus."  
  
"I was what? Where am I?" Vaughn started to panic.  
  
"Stay calm," the nurse said pinning him to the bed, "You're in the American embassy. Do you know what country you're in?"  
  
"Russia." Vaughn said in a 'what do you think I'm completely stupid?' tone.  
  
"Okay," the nurse said letting go of him after he had stopped thrashing around. "You'll be flown home tomorrow, you should be well enough then and you'll be placed in a hospital for a few days observation. Oh and we called you daughter. She would have come but we told her that you'd be home soon and she could see you then. You're very luck Mr. Vaughn."  
  
~*  
  
Vaughn hated hospitals. Every one, no matter where you were in the world, they all thought with their asses instead of their heads and treated you like a four-year-old.  
  
"Hey daddy." Sarah said entering the room with Vaughn's mother in tow and Michael Jr. in a pouch on her front. "What are you doing to yourself?"  
  
"Oh, you know a bit of this and a bit of that. I feel fine, maybe you could use your charm to convince the doctors that I'm ready to go home." Vaughn whined.  
  
"No I don't thing so." Vaughn's mum piped in. "You going to rest and watch daytime soaps young man."  
  
"I can watch daytime soaps at home mum." He whined some more.  
  
"I will not hear of it, would you like some coffee, son?" Mrs. Vaughn asked.  
  
"Sure thing ma." Vaughn said sarcastically.  
  
"Dad, what the hell happened?" Sarah asked, hands on hips.  
  
"I don't know," Vaughn answered, "I'm fine, I swear to you, I am fine!"  
  
"Dad you promised that you'd come home safe!" Sarah yelled, "You're lucky that you weren't brought home in a body bag."  
  
"Look I'm sorry," Vaughn said loosing his temper. "It wasn't my fault. I was just sitting in the back of the cab and this bloody bus came out of nowhere and hit the cab."  
  
"I'm sorry for yelling," Sarah showed deep regret, "I just don't want to have to live without you. You're my dad, you raised me alone, you helped me bring my son into the world, now you're helping me raise him. You're the best person in the world. Now I don't believe that you were visiting friends in Russia but I care what you were doing, I just want you to take care. That's all I'll ever ask."  
  
"I believe you." Vaughn started, "You're a great child and I love you. Just do one thing for me."  
  
"What's that?" Sarah asked slightly confused.  
  
"Never promise anything!" Vaughn replied.  
  
"Why?" Sarah asked very confused now but smiling.  
  
"Because whenever anyone I know promises anything the opposite happens." Vaughn said sound stern but humorous.  
  
"Okay then." Sarah responded. She unclipped Michael Jr. from the pouch on her front and laid him on the bed with her dad. She took a seat and watched the two of them together.  
  
~*  
  
The Vaughn household knew exactly how to drive Vaughn crazy. Mrs. Vaughn watched him from four am to three pm whilst Sarah pottered around shopping and cooking and watching TV and going out with friends. At three pm Sarah took over babysitting her dad whilst his mother fussed over the house chores.  
  
Vaughn failed to understand how there were any chores to do, but knowing his mother she had probably cleaned every cupboard in the kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms. She had already vacuumed every room in the house, Vaughn knew this as she had been in with the vacuum earlier that day.  
  
~*  
  
On the third day of his home imprisonment, he received a phone call.  
  
*(phone call)*  
  
"Hello," Vaughn answered the phone, Sarah was sitting at the end of his bed so he threw in, "Vaughn residence, we'll keep you locked up against you're will and make you watch 'The Bold and the Beautiful' and reruns of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'."  
  
"Mr. Vaughn?" The voice on the other end of the phone asked.  
  
"Yes" Vaughn replied.  
  
"She's headed to Paris, next week." The voice continued. "She's conducting a heist from the national art gallery there. She leaves on Monday."  
  
"What time?" Vaughn asked a beep tone. "Damn!" He cursed and hung up the phone.  
  
"Who was that?" Sarah asked looking concerned.  
  
"No one sweetie." Vaughn replied calmly.  
  
"If you say so," Sarah said in disbelief but let it go, "Dad, can I go to a party on Friday night?"  
  
"Yes, I suppose so." Vaughn agreed, "As long as you don't do anything stupid."  
  
"I promise!" 


	4. Chapter 4

Vaughn's mother cursed at him for several hours after Sarah left for the party. She kept saying stuff about Vaughn not looking at the big picture and that he'd regret it later. Vaughn brushed her off be saying how much he trusted Sarah's judgement and wasn't at all worried.  
  
"You should be ashamed of yourself!" Vaughn's mother lectured him, turning off the TV, and standing hands on hips directly in front of him.  
  
"What?" Vaughn grabbed the remote control to the TV and flicked it back on. "Sarah's a good girl she'll be fine."  
  
"All parents think that their kids are angels but their not!" Vaughn's mother flicked the TV off again.  
  
"Mom," Vaughn gripped his mother's hands. "Sarah is more like a friend that my daughter. I trust her. Okay?"  
  
"Fine." Vaughn's mom sounded defeated and left the room.  
  
Vaughn rolled his eyes at the woman and called to her. "Mom, I'm sorry, okay? Mom?" He rolled out of bed and trampled down stairs to where his mother was sobbing at the kitchen table. "Mom, I'm really sorry. I know how to take care of my daughter. I know that you're worried about her but she's more mature than everybody thinks. She's been grown up for too long."  
  
"She's only seventeen years old." Vaughn's mother reminded him.  
  
"I know that mom." Vaughn rolled his eyes again. "She's been busy trying to raise her son and has had no time for herself. This is me giving her the chance."  
  
"Okay." She said bitterly. "I hope you're right."  
  
"I am." Vaughn said.  
  
~*  
  
Sarah couldn't remember the last time she had been to a party, she couldn't remember what she had for breakfast that morning.  
  
She woke up in hospital with her father looking worried. "Dad?" She tried to say. Her mouth moved but the words just wouldn't come out.  
  
"Sarah," Vaughn sounded very worried. "Are you okay? How are you feeling?"  
  
"Dad." She tried to say again but still the words refused to come out. Tears started streaming down her face. Her throat hurt and her head ached. She couldn't think straight.  
  
"Sweetie." Vaughn said tenderly stroking her hair. "Shh, it's okay. Don't worry, don't worry."  
  
Sarah put a hand to her mouth and cried and cried 'What happened?' was all she could think.  
  
"It's okay." Vaughn whispered holding his crying daughter. "I'm not angry."  
  
'Angry?' Sarah wanted to ask, 'angry about what?'  
  
~*  
  
"Didn't I tell you?" Vaughn's mother yelled at him. "I said that you were foolish to think that she would be sensible at a teenage drinking bash."  
  
"Mom, it was her choice." Vaughn argued, "I upset and disappointed but it was still her choice and for whatever reason, she chose to get drunk to the point of hospitalization, I respect that."  
  
"You're a fool!" She yelled at him. "She's still a child! She doesn't need you to respect her decisions, she doesn't need you to treat her like an adult, she needs you to be her dad."  
  
"Mother, I need you to mind your own business and let me handle my daughter." Vaughn had lost all patience.  
  
"Fine." She said angrily, "When she lying dead in the gutter don't come running to me." She turned on her heal and stormed off.  
  
Vaughn rolled his eyes and shook his head, 'honestly!' he thought to himself and went to join his daughter.  
  
~*  
  
"How are you feeling now?" He asked a red, puffy eyed Sarah.  
  
Sarah sat up on the bed, her memory returned and she could speak again. "Dad, I'm so sorry. I heard you and grandma yelling at each other. Maybe she's right, I am still a child."  
  
"Sarah, honey, I love you and I will treat you however you want me to." Vaughn sat on the bed and took her hand.  
  
"Thank you." She whispered trying to hold back her tears.  
  
"I can take you home this afternoon." Vaughn said.  
  
Panic shot quickly through Sarah's body. "Where's Junior?"  
  
"He's at home." Vaughn said coolly.  
  
"At home?" Sarah questioned shocked, "With who?"  
  
"Don't worry, I've got a baby sitter." Vaughn shrugged off her yelling.  
  
"A baby sitter?" Sarah asked confused.  
  
"Yep." Vaughn confirmed. "And she's coming to stay with you on Monday while I go to Paris."  
  
"Paris?" Sarah's eyes widened. "Why are you going to Paris without me?"  
  
"It's business honey." Vaughn knew that she was disappointed, "When Junior's a bit older, I'll take you both to Paris."  
  
"Really?" Sarah asked excited.  
  
"Really." Vaughn assured her.  
  
~*  
  
Sarah was led in the front door by Vaughn, who had his hands firmly over her eyes. "Dad, What's going on?  
  
"You'll see, just one more step." He released her eyes.  
  
Sarah's smile widened and she ran to the figure holding her son, "Uncle Eric!" She shouted loudly hugging him tightly.  
  
"How have you been?" Weiss asked handing her Junior and ruffling her hair.  
  
"I'm great! Oh my God it so great to see you again. How's Seattle? How's Kate? What have you been doing?" Sarah asked excitedly fussing over him.  
  
"Well," Weiss started, "Where to start. It hasn't stopped raining in Seattle since I got there, Kate is about two months away from having my first son and I've been doing nothing but work."  
  
"Really?" Sarah was so excited. Eric Weiss was her godfather and she hadn't seen him for about five years. "Do you know what you're going to call you're son?"  
  
"We were thinking about Ethan." A woman's voice sounded from the staircase.  
  
"Kate?" Sarah questioned with even more excitement. "This is just getting better and better."  
  
"Hello." Kate's very feminine voice said embracing Sarah in a hug.  
  
"Wow!" Sarah said looking her over. "Look at you. You look so well. When I was seven months I looked like a hot air balloon with eyes and wouldn't stop eating ice-cream."  
  
Kate laughed. "Come and show me how to be a good mom." She said taking Sarah's hand and leading her upstairs.  
  
"Okay Mike," Weiss started putting his hands on his hips and facing him, "I'm here now what is it that you want my help with?"  
  
"Sydney's alive." Vaughn said taking a seat.  
  
"What?" Weiss was shocked. "Have you been dreaming? Are you doing drugs?"  
  
"No!" Vaughn was hurt. "Jack brought me pictures of her. I went to Russia to find her."  
  
"Russia?" Weiss asked in disbelief. "Russia where you got hit by a bus?"  
  
"Yes, but this is something I have to do. She's my wife!" Vaughn argued.  
  
"She was your wife." Weiss corrected. "Vaughn, Sydney's been dead for seventeen years. I was at her funeral. She was the one in the box."  
  
"Weiss!" Vaughn was pissed off now.  
  
"I'm sorry okay, it's just. Sydney being alive is impossible." He said calmly.  
  
"No it's not!" Vaughn got up and started pacing around the room. "She's alive, she works for K Directorate, she has two children, Weiss, Sydney's alive."  
  
"Okay, okay," Weiss said sitting down before he fell down, "assuming Sydney is alive, how exactly do you plan on finding her and carry out a plan to bring her home."  
  
"She's going on a mission in Paris on Monday." Vaughn informed him.  
  
"And you're going." Weiss finished for him.  
  
"Yes." Vaughn said quietly. "Eric, I have to do something. She doesn't know who she really is. I need her back."  
  
"Vaughn," Weiss was shaking his head, "if she doesn't know who she is then she sure as hell won't know who you are!"  
  
"That's a risk that I'm willing to take." Vaughn said making his way to the kitchen.  
  
Weiss stood up and followed him. "Is there anyway, anyway at all that I can talk you out of this?"  
  
"Nup!" Vaughn responded turning the jug on and getting two cups out of the cupboard.  
  
"Okay then, how can I help?" Weiss gave in.  
  
"Well this is the only chance that I have." Vaughn reported. "I don't know if my informant will call again."  
  
"Your informant?" Weiss questioned getting more confused by the second.  
  
"Yeah," Vaughn continued, "this guy that I met in Russia. He said he'd call when he found out where Sydney's next mission was and he rang just the other day. She's in Paris, steeling something from the national art gallery."  
  
"When do we leave?" Weiss asked sighing.  
  
"Monday eleven thirty am." Vaughn got two plane tickets out of a jar full of junk sitting on his kitchen counter and handed them to Weiss.  
  
"You knew that I'd give in didn't you?" Weiss questioned taking the ticket and a sip from the coffee that Vaughn had set down on the table in front of him.  
  
"You always do." Vaughn did his little half smile and handed Weiss a biscuit coated in sugar that he happily accepted.  
  
"I'm warning you, if you kill me before I get to see my son, I come back and haunt you!" Weiss warned him taking a bite out of the biscuit.  
  
"I won't I promise." Vaughn said taking a seat at the table.  
  
~*  
  
Vaughn listened carefully to the argument that raged directly in front of him for a perfect time to jump in.  
  
"What the hell?" Kate asked trying not to yell.  
  
"Mike's my best friend Kate," Weiss argued with his wife, "I have to help him."  
  
"So, you're just going to fly to Paris with two days notice to get yourself killed?" Kate asked angrily.  
  
"Kate, I'm not going to get myself killed!" Weiss yelled back. "Anytime no Mike."  
  
"Hey, I didn't mind you working for the CIA," Kate screamed winning Sarah out of her bedroom and down the stairs, "but this is going too far. I said no missions Eric. Now you're off to Paris two months before your son's born to bring back a woman who's supposed to have been dead for seventeen years! Sorry Michael."  
  
"That's okay." Vaughn whispered.  
  
"What?" Sarah asked shocked gaining the attention of everybody in the room.  
  
Kate, Vaughn and Weiss just stood there and stared at her. Each of them, trying to think of a descent excuse to play off to her.  
  
"I'll tell you later sweetie." Vaughn said leaving the couch and approaching her.  
  
"No," Sarah stepped back, "I think that you can tell me now.  
  
"It's complicated." He whispered.  
  
"Complicated?" Sarah asked confused and upset. "From what I understand, you work for the CIA, and my mother is still alive!"  
  
"Then you know everything." Vaughn replied.  
  
"She's still alive? And you didn't tell me?" Sarah croaked letting tears stream down her face.  
  
"I'm very, very sorry." Vaughn said taking her in his arms and holding her. "You have to understand why I didn't tell you. Please. I had to talk to her first. I don't want you to get your hopes up just to be disappointed."  
  
"I understand but we're supposed to be best friends and best friends tell each other everything." Sarah said bitterly pulling herself away from him. "It's that I don't understand."  
  
Vaughn leaned against the banister and ran his hands through his hair.  
  
Kate gently touched him on the shoulder, "If you need Eric to do this for you then it's fine with me, just take care of him."  
  
"I will." Vaughn said allowing his friend's wife to hold him while he fell to pieces.  
  
~*  
  
"Wow!" Weiss commented entering the hotel room. "This is really nice."  
  
"Yep," Vaughn agreed, "stylish, yet affordable."  
  
"Every thing in Paris is stylish." Weiss said in a matter-o-factly tone.  
  
"Yes, but not everything is affordable." Vaughn reminded him.  
  
"I'll drink to that." Weiss agreed.  
  
"No you won't." Vaughn stopped him before he bee lined for the mini bar. "First of all that stuff costs a fortune and secondly we've got to sit on the art gallery."  
  
"You're right." Weiss sat on the bed and read the TV guide.  
  
Vaughn organized all the things that he had brought with him that he hoped would assist in the extraction of Sydney.  
  
  
  
*A/N: This chapter was written for Steph (eboneya). With out you this chapter probably wouldn't have been finished and I probably wouldn't have a neck. Thanks heap. Luv ya.* 


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